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Duck jelly at Michelin-starred London restaurant Bibendum by chef Claude Bosi in the Michelin Building, South Kensington. It is one of 71 Michelin-starred London restaurants Jason Bailey

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The Most Impressive Restaurant Newcomers of 2017

The restaurants that opened their doors and writers’ eyes in London this year

It is the tradition at Eater to end the year with a survey of friends, rovers of the industry, critics and professional eaters. This year, the group were asked eight questions, spanning meal of the year to biggest dining grievance. Their answers will appear throughout this week. Responses are related in no particular order; cut, pasted, and unedited below. Earlier today it was restaurant standbys, now it's time for the most impressive restaurant newcomers in 2017.


Grace Dent, former ES Magazine — and soon-to-be The Guardian — restaurant critic: Westerns Laundry, Ella Canta, Darjeeling Express, Monty’s Deli, Farang.

Adam Coghlan, Eater London editor: Nuala, Koya City, Parsons, Westerns Laundry, Ikoyi, Rochelle Canteen at the ICA, XU, Bibendum. A nod to Motu and The Kitchens in Spitalfields market, too. Neither are strictly restaurants but both have used nous to create restaurant-quality food in new and innovative ways.

George Reynolds, Eater London contributor (and impressive newcomer): Westerns, Bibendum (it's important, even if I didn't love it), Pique-Nique, Smoking Goat Shoreditch, Lorne.

Victoria Stewart, food writer: Rochelle Canteen ICA; Santo Remedio.

The dining room at Westerns Laundry
Westerns Laundry / Official

James Hansen, food writer, editor and Eater London contributor: Most of my new darlings are in fact slight cop-outs, new riffs or iterations of a winning formula: Rochelle moving into the ICA, Smoking Goat into Redchurch Street, Santo Remedio into Borough. For genuine fresh faces? Westerns Laundry can’t go unmentioned, neither can Lorne or Sparrow. Red Rooster opening in the capital was a seismic moment, while Cub’s opening was a pleasing one: a new idea of a restaurant, in a city at least somewhat ready for it.

Emma Hughes, freelance food writer and Eater London contributor: Llewellyn's, Humble Grape, Lorne, Xu.

Josh Barrie, food writer and Eater London contributor: Salon revamp. Liked it before, even better now. Really love it. Also Serge et le Phoque, Ella Canta, Rambla. The usual.

Suze Olbrich, freelance food writer and Eater London contributor: Londrino <3, Westerns Laundry, Ikoyi, and welcome back Santo Remedio.

Zeren Wilson, restaurant discoverer and author of Bitten & Written: Westerns Laundry, Winemakers Deptford, Lorne, Pique-Nique, Ikoyi, XU, Smoking Goat Bar Shoreditch (full disclosure, I help with the wine list), Plaquemine Lock, Neo Bistro. Last minute 2017 openings: Londrino (90’+2), Koya City (90’+4) and Parsons (90’+6).

D’tom Yam, Wild Mussels, Velvet Crab at Smoking Goat Shoreditch
Benjamin McMahon

Chloe Scott-Moncrieff, food writer and co-founder of the YBFs: Rochelle ICA, Neo Bistro, Duddell’s and Nuala. Just visited the latter last night where I had a clam dish with butter, pistachio and grilled sourdough to dunk in the creamy juices. That’s one of my favourite meals of the year. It was creamy, fatty, bursting with flavour, loved it.

Sophie Brown, freelance food writer: Pastaio – simply divine.

Felicity Spector, Channel 4 News writer and pastry lover: Llewelyn’s, Sparrow, Rochelle ICA, Monty’s Deli.

Laurel Ives, former food editor of The Sunday Times The Dish: Two standout revamps of old haunts come to mind. For a blow out visit Claude Bosi at Bibendum, the set lunch is the most affordable way to try the faultless food, and the beautiful room and stained glass window are at their best during daylight. Similarly an old fave the ICA has had a revamp, and welcomed the brilliant Rochelle Canteen to its home on the Mall.

Best of all for me was the arrival of Westerns Laundry to my neighbourhood. I’ve had many a raucous night at their first restaurant Primeur round the corner, and the new place is just as good with a greater emphasis on seafood.

There were a few new posh Indian arrivals, but my favourite was Bombay Bustle, from the people behind Jamavar, where the innovative small plates were unusual and tasty.

Westerns Laundry

34 Drayton Park, , England N5 1PB 020 7700 3700 Visit Website

Farang

72 Highbury Park, , England N5 2XE 020 7226 1609 Visit Website

Salon

18 Market Row, , England SW9 8LD 020 7501 9152 Visit Website

Londrino

, London,

CUB

153 Hoxton Street, , England N1 6PJ 020 3693 3202 Visit Website

Winemakers Deptford

209 Deptford High Street, , England SE8 3NT 020 8305 6852 Visit Website

Serge et le Phoque

, , England W1T 1PG 020 3146 8880 Visit Website

Nuala

70-74 City Road , , EC1 Visit Website

Pique-Nique

Tanner St Park, London, Greater London SE1 020 7403 9549

XU

30 Rupert Street, , England W1D 6DL 020 3319 8147 Visit Website

Rochelle Canteen

16 Playground Gardens, , England E2 7FA 020 3928 8328 Visit Website

Ella Canta

Park Lane, , England W1J 7QY 020 7318 8715 Visit Website

Humble Grape

2 Battersea Rise, , England SW11 1ED 020 3620 2202 Visit Website

Claude Bosi at Bibendum

81 Fulham Road, , England SW3 6RD 020 7581 5817 Visit Website

Red Rooster

45 Curtain Rd, Shoreditch, Greater London EC2A 3PT +44 20 3146 4545

Lorne

76 Wilton Rd, London, Greater London SW1V 1DE +44 20 3327 0210 Visit Website

Jamavar

8 Mount Street, , England W1K 3NF 020 7499 1800 Visit Website

Darjeeling Express

2a Garrick Street, , England WC2E 9BH 020 7836 8888 Visit Website

Neo Bistro

11 Woodstock Street, , England W1C 2AE 020 7499 9427 Visit Website

Rambla

64 Dean Street, , England W1D 4QG 020 7734 8428 Visit Website

Koya City

10-12 Bloomberg Arcade, , England EC4N 8AR Visit Website

Santo Remedio

152 Tooley Street, , England SE1 2TU 020 7403 3021 Visit Website

Bombay Bustle

29 Maddox Street, , England W1S 2PA 020 7290 4470 Visit Website

Bibendum

81 Fulham Rd, London, Greater London SW3 6RD +44 20 7590 1189 Visit Website

Ikoyi

1 Saint James's Market, , England SW1Y 4AH 020 3583 4660 Visit Website

Smoking Goat

64 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JJ

Plaquemine Lock

139 Graham Street, , England N1 8LB 020 7688 1488 Visit Website

Brilliant

72-76 Western Road, Southall , Middlesex , UB2 5DZ Visit Website

Parsons

39 Endell Street, , England WC2H 9BA 020 3422 0221 Visit Website